​So how many people have you seen walk into lamp posts playing Pokémon Go?

​It’s quite funny watching everyone do it. People walking around in gangs with a weird squint and their phones aloft as they flick their screens. I had someone tell me today that he has walked 40k in the last week since he downloaded the app. Amazing that such a small thing can invoke such a life change; but why is there a need to chase and capture imaginary creatures to encourage people to #GetOutside and be active?

So often these days I see people wondering about on their phones, not really aware of their surroundings. Sometimes it’s funny and someone trips and looks around sheepishly hoping they weren’t spotted. Other times you are nearly witness to an accident where they step off a curb, not realising it is there, and almost into the path of oncoming traffic.

It’s not only when people are out and about though that I notice this. I was catching up with a friend recently and both of us were getting notifications from our social media. I noticed that actually neither of us ignored them; we would glance at our phone and sometimes we would place it back down and others we’d do a quick something with it and carry on the conversation. But when we are on the phone like that, are we ever really there?

I’m beginning to wonder if our phones are making us into half people. Half of us is on the phone, texting, looking at tweets, retweeting, commenting, and liking pictures. The other half of us is in the real world, functioning but not giving that situation the full attention. I sort of understand it with TV; you can watch and have a gander (I have a theory that is why I bite my nails less, as my hands are occupied). But when in company, is it not just rude? And when out and about, is it not a huge shame and maybe even sometimes a bit dangerous?

"why not just go and see what you can discover in the world outside?"

​With one group of friends I have adopted a ‘phone rule’; we put all our phones on one end of a table, face down, one on top of the other. First one to go for their phone, except to work out the bill, buys the drinks. Actually it’s worked very well; if there’s a funny anecdote about a video, comment or post we’ve seen, we’ll tell it and share the link later. It’s much more sociable and you get far more from spending good quality time with your friends.

As for being on phones out and about; I can’t deny that what Pokémon Go is doing can’t be a bad thing in terms of people getting exercise and fresh air. But what about when it rains again, or people have finished the game or they get bored; what then? I can’t help feeling that apps such as the ‘count butterflies’ app might be more useful in this case. Instead of looking for fictitious beings, why not help out with conservation efforts and spot rare wildlife instead of rare Pokémon? Or how about saving the battery life on your phone altogether and using good old fashioned pen and paper to note what you see? Or if spotting wildlife isn’t for you, why not just go and see what you can discover in the world outside? You don’t need to venture far, just leave the house and see where your feet take you. You might surprise yourself with the distance you achieve or the discoveries you make about your local area.

There is so much for us to see, not just in nature but in people as well. I love watching all the interactions when I’m on my own. I live in a city but countryside isn’t far away. In both places I find things that will always bring a little smile to my face and uplift me. Things that I’m not sure I’d ever notice if I were on my phone.

And it’s not only about what we observe as an outsider but how we interact ourselves. When I’m having a text conversation, part of me is old fashioned and would still rather just pick up the phone and chat; have a proper catch up in the absence of them being in the same room as me. It also means that they then have my full attention, whereas when I’m texting I could be doing any number of things in between, including talking to other people, both physically and on my mobile; for the people I’m physically in the room with surely it isn’t fair or nice to do that? I owe it to whoever I’m talking to or with to pay attention to what they have to say and actually share in it with them.

We are all looking for connections in this modern world but in keeping our devices on all the time maybe we’re really disconnecting from the real world and the people in it. Surely the only real way to engage is to take part; smile at strangers as they pass, have proper conversations that put the world to rights with friends, catch snippets of conversation that are hilarious out of context and maybe have a quiet chuckle at the phone user who hopes you didn’t spot them walking into that lamp post.

LOVE your phone stack idea for when you are out with friends. Totally going to try that one. However, as a blogger it's really hard to NOT take photographs alllll the time!

I'm on the otherside of the fence about Pokemon Go to be honest; it's getting people outside who wouldn't normally go out to work. So many people I'm friends with on Facebook who don't enjoy the outside have been sharing how far they have walked for the game- I think it's fab for health and, hopefully, people will start to love the outdoors as a result and may even (heaven forbid) enjoy it without a phone!

Thanks so much for taking the time to comment. I know what you mean about snapping every moment; I'm awful for it!

I definitely agree that it's no bad thing to be getting everyone outside, it's been very heartening to see so many more people enjoying the sunshine when I'm out and about. I hope once the novelty of the app wears off people will continue to go out and enjoy the great outdoors, as you say, without the phones. The distances some people have travelled for the game are incredible; hopefully they will notice the benefits to their health and happiness as a result of the walking and the fresh air and continue long after they complete Pokémon Go.

I'll be really interested to see how people's habits change from the app, with any luck for the better!

A really great read. I went for about three years without a phone (despite being a content marketer) and it was so nice to just switch off! Now I have one again, sometimes it feels tiering. As I love to blog, I have my camera phone with me most of the time and have found myself thinking 'oh that will look good for (insert social platform)'. It's finding that balance and I am still very much in search for it. I think at one point I was actually addicted to social media. It's the outdoors which has broken me away from that. I am glad there is no Wifi in the wilderness, I don't want a 4g phone!!

I think it's marvellous how man made technology can help to encourage others to go outside and fingers crossed it sparks something inside of them to do it more but I don't see how looking through a screen for something that's not really there will do that... I prefer apps like the woodland trust have designed to help identify trees, now there's technology at its best.

Thanks for the follow on twitter. Xxx

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Sarah

12/9/2016 12:57:05

Thanks so much for comment Chelsea! I completely agree, switching off is definitely better for the soul! I also know what you mean about finding it difficult, I'm in marketing too and social media can be very difficult to manage the boundaries. It's definitely worthwhile using nature as an escape from all that. The tree app sounds good though, I'm always seeing plants etc and wondering what they are!

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I am a newbie blogger, having a go at talking about something I care about -namely getting out and about in the most interesting ways possible!